ABCtech #23 04OC14 Inspiring Leadership

ABCtech #23 04OC14 Inspiring Leadership

During times of change leaders faces many challenges.  This Special Edition of QuikTech Notes features several invited editorials on the subject of leadership challenges in changing times. Note also, we have just completed the site consultations across the province investigating “Why small businesses fail to grow”. The Report and recommendations will be released for the public in November.  Thank all of you as contributors. Also of interest to our subscribers will be an update shortly on establishing a model Innovation Zone in Alberta. Stay tuned. – Editor

CHANGING ROLES OF A LEADER

“Modern Business Requires Leaders to Connect with People at Emotional Level” Leadership over the years has evolved.  Historically (in the 19^th and 20^th centuries) leaders were primarily concerned with managing machines and processes. While this style was and still is necessary for maximizing productivity and profits, it often is accomplished at the expense of the people. This leadership style, which in the modern training lexicon is referred to as ‘management’, evolved during and after the Industrial Revolution and is still with us today.

“Cubical farms” appeared in the mid-20^th century and are still pervasive in many large corporations. The result is that a 2013 Gallup Workfoce study indicates that an alarming 67 percent of employees feel disengaged at work!  FOR MORE

CREATIVITY-CONSCIOUS LEADERSHIP

Alberta businesses today are facing mutiple challenges which require innovative solutions. How do leaders foster innovation, creativity, and collaboration to discover and execute on the most creative and innovative solutions to those challenges?

It starts with creating a culture of active engagement so teams have the resources to thrive. Some of that comes down to access to capital, but it also comes down to the company’s leader.

Does the leader hold a space that encourages or discourages creativity and innovation? In other words, is the leader conscious of the effect of his or her presence on the team? FOR MORE

Want to become a more conscious leader so you can inspire a culture of creativity and innovation at work and at home? Click HERE   Contact: Karen Coe karencoe01@gmail.com

ENGAGING LEADERS FOR SUCCESS

Alberta is currently enjoying a period of healthy growth and prosperity.  Many Alberta business owners are seeing their businesses grow and thrive.  Yet within the successes of Alberta’s economy, there are stresses and strains that challenge these owners.   One of the struggles that Alberta business owners deal with is with how to find, keep and engage workers to support them in meeting their business goals.

The phrase “may you live in interesting times” has been said to be an ancient Chinese curse.  Interesting times bring with them both challenges and opportunities, and when we look at the world stage and what is happening closer to home in Alberta, it does seem we are living in interesting times.

According to Gallup’s 2013 State of the Global Workforce study, only 16% of Canadian Workers are actively engaged in their work.  These workers are physically and psychologically present at work – they care, they produce and they give extra effort to help organizations reach their goals.  FOR MORE

THE ANALYTICS DREAM TEAM

The chasm between Business and IT is well documented and has existed since the first punch-card mainframe dimmed the lights of MIT to solve the ballistic trajectory of WWII munitions.  Since that time, great leaps in data collection, storage, connectivity, and processing power have made IT infrastructure ubiquitous.  You’re not even in the game if you don’t have an IT group.

But the productivity gains have not kept pace with the investments.  The newest hype-driver, analytics, claims that it will finally deliver the goods.  But can it?

Some studies suggest that analytics projects have an 80% failure rate.  That’s abysmal.  In the next few articles, we’ll look at reasons for this failure.  We’ll start by describing the roles, then talk about process, and finally identify the characteristics of world-class analytics.  FOR MORE

LEADERSHIP SEARCH

Conroy Ross Partners has been retained to conduct a search for the General Manager, Applied Research for Alberta Innovates Technology Futures (AITF).  FOR MORE

FOR MORE

“IMAGINEERS” ARE LEADING CHANGE

In my silo, marketing and advertising, we apply art and science to understand markets, regions, communities, target markets — whatever we call the consumer (of anything).  The challenges we face today in a world being transformed by disruptive technology concomitant with the emergence of global economic communities compel us to re-examine our economic concepts.

The sector that is crying most for support is “entertainment”, which some de-value as the weakest link in the economic matrix.  But change is underway. This squeaky wheel is doing a serious job of connecting the dots between technology, software, content and marketing.  It is a context most sectors share from nanotechnology and oil and gas to the intellectual property relating to inventions and programming including applications.

But some sectors struggle.  Others learn and grow.  Few share. … FOR MORE

THE PARADOXICAL COMMANDMENTS by Dr. Kent M. Keith

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
  Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
  Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
  Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
  Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
  Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
  Think big anyway.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
  Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
  Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
  Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
  Give the world the best you have anyway.

DEVELOP YOUR LEADERS, TRANSFORM YOUR ORGANIZATION

Traditional approaches to leader development aren’t delivering on their promise. They’re too detached from business operations and strategy, and focus on knowledge and skills rather than on values and mindsets. Instead of viewing work and learning as distinct activities, learning professionals need to take a more holistic approach to leader development, one that will help both leaders and organizations grow and thrive. Based on more than two decades of working with leading organizations to drive business results through leadership development, and in partnership with our faculty from Harvard Business School and authors from Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business Publishing experts have identified three critical elements of an effective and sustainable leadership development strategy: help leaders master critical mind shifts, build pivotal capabilities that drive business, and integrate learning into work processes and environment. This paper describes how an approach to leader development that integrates these three elements will produce a leadership culture that can drive an organization to win in its market.  FOR MORE

7 SECRETS OF INSPIRING LEADERS